BROOKLYN: NANCY ELIZABETH PROPHET

I Will Not Bend an Inch

March 14–July 13, 2025

BROOKLYN MUSEUM
200 Eastern Parkway
Brooklyn, NY

From brooklynmuseum.org:

I Will Not Bend an Inch is the first major museum exhibition dedicated to Afro-Indigenous sculptor Nancy Elizabeth Prophet (1890–1960). A pioneering artist of Narragansett and African American descent, Prophet overcame deep-seated racism and sexism to create emotionally powerful, technically masterful sculpture. Despite critical success during her time in Paris, she endured poverty and isolation while remaining fiercely committed to her practice.

The exhibition features 20 rare works—including hardwood portrait heads, marble carvings, and works on paper—alongside archival materials like correspondence with W. E. B. Du Bois and her 1929 Paris diary, which inspired the exhibition’s title. Prophet’s legacy, long overlooked, is honored through new scholarship and a richly illustrated catalogue co-published by RISD Museum and Yale University Press.

For more information, click here.